Welcome to the History of English Podcast, a podcast about the history of the English language.

This is episode 175, The English of Romeo and Juliet.

This time we're going to examine one of the most popular plays ever written, a play that

continues to be performed on stages and adapted to the silver screen to this day. Of course

that play is Romeo and Juliet. It's arguably

Shakespeare's most popular play and while he didn't invent the story he

certainly brought it to the masses through his poetic language

and his particular use of English verse and prose. In this episode we'll look at how the

language of the play reflects the state of English in the late 1500s.

We'll examine some interesting developments in English pronunciation as reflected in the play,

and we'll also identify several terms and phrases used in the play that have become part of the standard lexicon of English.

But before we begin, let me remind you that the website for the podcast is History of English

podcast.com and you can sign up to support the podcast and get bonus episodes at

Patreon.com slash This time we're going to focus on one of the most popular romantic stories of all time.

The story of two star-crossed lovers from Verona named Romeo and Juliet.

It's one of William Shakespeare's most enduring plays and it continues to exert

its influence on popular culture.

If you have access to a theater or cinema or streaming video service,

you shouldn't have any problem finding a version of this play to watch. In fact, according to motion picture

experts, Romeo and Juliet has been adapted to film more than any other Shakespeare play.

One of the most popular modern adaptations was the musical West Side Story,

which now has two different motion picture versions.

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